The Passaic Basin is fairly well supplied with storage facilities, which, under ordinary circumstances, would temper the severity of floods by holding back a large amount of water. In this case no such effect was produced, as the reservoirs, lakes, and ponds on the drainage area were filled, or practically so, at the beginning of the storm, and there was consequently no available space in which to hold back even an appreciable part of the run-off water. Over some of the dams in the highland region a comparatively small amount of water was being discharged at the beginning of the storm. Therefore, while these storage basins may have had a certain deterring effect upon the rate of flood accumulation, they could not, in the end, assist materially in preventing damages in the lower part of the drainage area. PRECIPITATION. The precipitation records for June, July, August, and September are given below: _Precipitation, in inches, in Passaic Valley and vicinity, June to September, 1903._ -----------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+------------ | June. | July. | August. | September. -----------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+------------ |Normal. |Normal. |Normal. |Normal. | Observed.| Observed.| Observed.| Observed. -----------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+------------ Highland region: | | | | | | | | Dover | 3.29 | 15.02 | 5.54 | 5.47 | 5.08 | 9.04 | 4.02 | 3.39 Chester | 3.48 | 12.80 | 6.42 | 7.59 | 5.16 | 9.35 | 4.60 | ... Charlotteburg | 3.52 | 9.45 | 5.54 | 3.97 | 4.98 | 7.78 | 4.80 | 3.29 Ringwood | ... | 10.13 | ... | 3.08 | ... | 6.17 | ... | 3.06 Red Sandstone | | | | | | | | plain: | | | | | | | | Paterson | 4.31 | 11.17 | 5.32 | 5.40 | 4.31 | 10.89 | 4.86 | 2.88 Hanover | 3.32 | ... | 5.23 | 5.40 | 5.20 | 9.40 | 4.52 | ... River Vale | 3.17 | 10.62 | 4.87 | 3.41 | 4.17 | ... | 3.61 | 2.90 Essex Fells | 3.08 | ... | 7.03 | ... | 5.95 | ... | 3.67 | 1.80 Newark | 3.60 | 11.51 | 4.48 | 4.27 | 4.75 | 14.54 | 3.83 | 4.56 South Orange | 3.57 | 9.28 | 5.43 | 4.22 | 5.05 | 13.75 | 4.04 | 3.80 New York City | 3.13 | 7.42 | 4.26 | 3.23 | 4.70 | 5.96 | 3.72 | 2.60 Plainfield | 3.62 | 10.14 | 5.86 | 4.70 | 4.37 | 6.87 | 4.42 | 7.10 Elizabeth | 3.68 | 8.76 | 5.74 | 4.31 | 4.26 | 7.15 | 4.14 | 4.38 -----------------+--------------+--------------+------|-------+------+-----